# 2004 Cleveland Browns season

The 2004 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 56th season and 52nd with the National Football League. The Browns were looking to improve on their 5–11 record from 2003 and return to their 2002 playoff position; however, hindered by a tough schedule they regressed further and only won four games. On November 30, Butch Davis resigned as head coach and general manager of the team. He was succeeded by offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie. Robiskie promoted tight end coach Rob Chudzinski to offensive coordinator.
On September 12, the Browns defeated the Baltimore Ravens, 20–3, marking the team's only Week 1 win since returning to the NFL in 1999 until they defeated the Carolina Panthers in 2022, 26–24. In the 24 seasons since the Browns returned to the league, the Browns opening week record is 3–20–1.

## 2004 NFL Draft

| Draft order | Draft order | Player name | Position | College |
| Round | Pick | Player name | Position | College |
| 1 | 6 | Kellen Winslow | Tight end | Miami |
| 2 | 59 | Sean Jones | Safety | Georgia |
| 4 | 106 | Luke McCown | Quarterback | Louisiana Tech |
| 5 | 161 | Amon Gordon | Defensive lineman | Stanford |
| 6 | 176 | Kirk Chambers | Offensive lineman | Stanford |
| 7 | 208 | Adimchinobi Echemandu | Running back | California |

## Schedule

Football statistics site Football Outsiders calculated that the 2004 Browns played the toughest schedule of any NFL team between 1989 and 2013, based on strength of opponent, although Pro Football Reference argues that their schedule was only the fifth-toughest in this span and twelfth-toughest non-strike since 1971. The Browns played just one game – their Week 16 contest against the Miami Dolphins – against a team with fewer than six wins, and played five against opponents with 12 or more wins, including a total of three against Steelers and Patriots who were a combined 28–2 against their remaining opponents.
Apart from their AFC North division games, the Browns played against the AFC East and NFC East according to the conference rotation, and played the Chargers and Texans based on 2003 divisional positions.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Stadium | Attendance |
| 1 | September 12 | Baltimore Ravens | W 20–3 | 1–0 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,068 |
| 2 | September 19 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 12–19 | 1–1 | Texas Stadium | 63,119 |
| 3 | September 26 | at New York Giants | L 10–27 | 1–2 | Giants Stadium | 78,521 |
| 4 | October 3 | Washington Redskins | W 17–13 | 2–2 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,348 |
| 5 | October 10 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 23–34 | 2–3 | Heinz Field | 63,609 |
| 6 | October 17 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 34–17 | 3–3 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,263 |
| 7 | October 24 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 31–34 $_{(OT)}$ | 3–4 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,394 |
| 8 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 9 | November 7 | at Baltimore Ravens | L 13–27 | 3–5 | M&T Bank Stadium | 69,781 |
| 10 | November 14 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 10–24 | 3–6 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,703 |
| 11 | November 21 | New York Jets | L 7–10 | 3–7 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 72,547 |
| 12 | November 28 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 48–58 | 3–8 | Paul Brown Stadium | 65,677 |
| 13 | December 5 | New England Patriots | L 15–42 | 3–9 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,028 |
| 14 | December 12 | at Buffalo Bills | L 7–37 | 3–10 | Ralph Wilson Stadium | 72,330 |
| 15 | December 19 | San Diego Chargers | L 0–21 | 3–11 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 72,489 |
| 16 | December 26 | at Miami Dolphins | L 7–10 | 3–12 | Pro Player Stadium | 73,169 |
| 17 | January 2 | at Houston Texans | W 22–14 | 4–12 | Reliant Stadium | 70,724 |
| Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text. |||||||

## Standings

AFC North :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(1)}$ Pittsburgh Steelers | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 5–1 | 11–1 | 372 | 251 | W14 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 317 | 268 | W1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 4–8 | 374 | 372 | W2 |
| Cleveland Browns | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–4 | 3–9 | 276 | 390 | W1 |
AFC
viewtalkedit :
| # | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | STK |
| Division leaders ||||||||||||
| 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers | North | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 5–1 | 11–1 | .484 | .479 | W14 |
| 2 | New England Patriots | East | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 5–1 | 10–2 | .492 | .478 | W2 |
| 3 | Indianapolis Colts | South | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 5–1 | 8–4 | .500 | .458 | L1 |
| 4 | San Diego Chargers | West | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 5–1 | 9–3 | .477 | .411 | W1 |
| Wild cards ||||||||||||
| 5 | New York Jets | East | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .523 | .406 | L2 |
| 6 | Denver Broncos | West | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .484 | .450 | W2 |
| Did not qualify for the postseason ||||||||||||
| 7 | Jacksonville Jaguars | South | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2–4 | 6–6 | .527 | .479 | W1 |
| 8 | Baltimore Ravens | North | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 6–6 | .551 | .472 | W1 |
| 9 | Buffalo Bills | East | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 5–7 | .512 | .382 | L1 |
| 10 | Cincinnati Bengals | North | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 4–8 | .543 | .453 | W2 |
| 11 | Houston Texans | South | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–2 | 6–6 | .504 | .402 | L1 |
| 12 | Kansas City Chiefs | West | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 6–6 | .551 | .509 | L1 |
| 13 | Oakland Raiders | West | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 3–9 | .570 | .450 | L2 |
| 14 | Tennessee Titans | South | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 3–9 | .512 | .463 | W1 |
| 15 | Miami Dolphins | East | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 1–5 | 2–10 | .555 | .438 | L1 |
| 16 | Cleveland Browns | North | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 1–5 | 3–9 | .590 | .469 | W1 |
| Tiebreakers ||||||||||||
| 1 2 Indianapolis clinched the AFC #3 seed instead of San Diego based upon head-to-head victory. 1 2 New York Jets clinched the AFC #5 seed instead of Denver based upon better record against common opponents (New York Jets were 5–0 to Denver’s 3–2 against San Diego, Cincinnati, Houston, and Miami). 1 2 3 Jacksonville and Baltimore finished ahead of Buffalo because they each defeated Buffalo head-to-head. 1 2 Jacksonville finished ahead of Baltimore based upon better record against common opponents (Jacksonville were 3–2 against Baltimore’s 2–3 versus Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Buffalo and Kansas City). 1 2 Houston finished ahead of Kansas City based upon head-to-head victory. 1 2 Oakland finished ahead of Tennessee based upon head-to-head victory. 1 2 Miami finished ahead of Cleveland based upon head-to-head victory. ↑ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division. ||||||||||||